The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. São Paulo, Brazil is giving us a look into how inner cities might look in an SHTF situation where total collapse has not occurred.

Politics

The Democrat party has given up the moral high ground that they briefly held in the battle over sexual allegations of senators. For weeks, they have called for Roy Moore to step down from the race. Then came the allegations against Senator Al Franken and Representative John Conyers. After briefly claiming the moral high ground by throwing ex-president Bill Clinton under the proverbial bus (20 years too late), the iron faced Pelosi declared her double standard and refused to even engage on the subject of removal of All Franken. The best we get is that John Conyer is voluntarily stepping down from his leadership position.

Middle East

An Arab newspaper Al Jarida has announced that their Israeli source has disclosed that Israel is ready to ramp up operations in the Middle East. The source claims that Israel is cutting a deal with Assad where Syria agrees to create a 40km DMZ in the Golan Heights and Israel will stop their attempts to remove Assad’s regime from power. Israel is reportedly favorable to that deal but will continue to eradicate Iran and Hezbollah from Syria. The article also acknowledges Israel’s humanitarian work in the region with those who have been affected by the war, but says that when Israel treats the rebels, it is the same as working against Assad. There is no official position from Israel on the deal yet. Thanks to G.P. for the link.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“People who have all the toys and piles of preps but who fail to invest in their own spiritual life can still fail, through a failure of will, through a failure of courage and morals, and through a failure to discern the path of God ahead.” – SurvivalBlog Reader ShepherdFarmerGeek

Preparedness Notes for Monday – November 27, 2017

November 27th is the birthday of both SurvivalBlog’s Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio, and sci-fi novelist L. Sprague de Camp (1907 – 2000).

o o o

JRH Enterprises is having a Cyber Monday sale featuring:

o o o

Valley Food Storage is still having their Sale with more than 45% off on many long term food storage packages.

Beretta Nano, by Pat Cascio

12

The trend continues with subcompact 9mm handguns, and today we are reviewing the Beretta Nano.

Market for Itty-Bitty Handguns

For quite a few years, the handgun market was awash in itty-bitty .380 ACP handguns, and for good reason. A lot of people were getting their concealed handgun permit, and most didn’t want to strap on a big gun each day. I can certainly understand that. For many, many years I carried either a full-sized 1911 in .45 ACP or a Commander-sized 1911 again in .45 ACP. However, as I age, and I seem to be aging much faster these days, I don’t always want to carry a big, heavy, full-sized handgun on a daily basis. Now, that’s not to say that I don’t; it depends on where I’m going and what the threat level is I might perceive. When that happens, a 1911 is on my side.

Even though it pains me to admit it, for some time, way back in another life, when I was much younger and dumber, I carried a .380 ACP Walther PPK/S on a regular basis. That was when I was doing private investigations back in Chicago. And, the only ammo available that was reliable was full metal jacket, which is not the best man stopper load, not then and not now, in my humble opinion. So, I never recommend anyone carry “only” a .380 ACP chambered handgun for self defense, not where there are a lot better options in a more powerful caliber, the 9mm!

Continue reading“Beretta Nano, by Pat Cascio”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

10

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on buying Remote Retreat Land. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

At the San Francisco Gold & Silver Summit: A ‘Major’ Gold Rally Is Coming, Thanks To The Fed – Jim Rickards

o  o  o

Gold dips on profit-taking; analysts predict a rebound

 

Stock Markets:

Amazon Black Friday records push Jeff Bezos’s fortune past $100 billion

o  o  o

Video from Sven Carlin, at Seeking Alpha: Will The Stock Market Crash In 2018?

 

Commodities:

Oil heads for best weekly gain in month on Keystone disruption

o  o  o

Brian Leni: The Nickel Market: Investing Ahead Of The Crowd – Part 1

 

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday – November 26, 2017

November 26th is the birthday of both gun inventor Eugene Reising (born 1884, died February 21, 1967) and the late Barton Biggs (born 1932, died July 14, 2012). Biggs was a money manager known for his pro-preparedness stance.

o o o

As long as on-hand supplies last, Ready Made Resources is having a sale on Tac-Con 3MR AR-15/M4 “three mode” triggers with standard selector switches for right-handers. These ATF-approved triggers are extremely fast, crisp triggers with very short reset. The third selector position is incredibly fast, with just a bit of practice. These normally sell for $349, but are now on sale at $319.95

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 73 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
  8. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value), and
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  6. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 73 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

The Texas Church Shooting Aftermath, by Sophie in Texas

34

Being from a small town (population 450) outside of San Antonio, Texas and one who regularly attends Sunday services at an evangelical church, it was devastating news to hear of the evil inflicted on the Sutherland Springs congregation. Our hearts and prayers went out to the families that suffer and to the community that lost so many souls.

Churches Formulate a Response

In the aftermath of such pain, many churches and Texans began to formulate a direct response to the evil that occurred. You may know about the 26 churchgoers killed and another 20 wounded, but my story is how our little church has responded to the direct threat of pure evil.

Similarities Between Our Church and Sutherland Springs Church

The similarities between our church and the Sutherland Springs church are eerily striking: same size town, same white church, same size congregation, and same general vicinity of San Antonio. This also means it can happen to any church, in any town, USA.

Our Church Takes Hard Stand

Our church takes a hard stand on biblical views. The church’s Ten Commandments sign is on full roadside display. We use our outside billboard to reinforce Bible principles, regardless of worldly opinion. Sometimes God’s views create strife, even within our tiny, Bible-belt community.

Continue reading“The Texas Church Shooting Aftermath, by Sophie in Texas”

Letter: TEOTWAWKI Weekend Experience

16

Hi Hugh,

Just did the TEOTWAWKI weekend prep. As a background, I live on an Army base. (And, yes, I have places to go in the Country as well.)

The Schedule went like this:

Morning prayers is how it started. It was just my Son and I. (My Wife is an atheist, so she doesn’t pray. She does get heard in our prayers.) We gave thanks to our Savior, the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Activities:

Morning PT or Physical Training. My son and I wrestled and boxed. I personally have very well respected credentials in this, for most. My son is very safe.

We also did some strategy training. My son and I played “Army Men” together. He has a castle made out of plastic, along with a bunch of figures. It was a good time. We discussed “castle strategy” and defense in groups. No offensive measures were discussed; that meant going outside defensive perimeters was prohibited. There was lots of laughter and discussion.

Continue reading“Letter: TEOTWAWKI Weekend Experience”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

12

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. In a stunning video, today we find that Amazon’s Alexa is a SJW!

Facial Recognition

We’ve reported several times over the past couple of year how the holy grail of retailers is to recognize each individual shopper and promote or push items of interest specifically to identified people. In many cases, people give this information away freely when they sign up for “rewards” at stores. (Surely you didn’t think that was all about giving you things for your loyalty.) Walmart has led the way, but other retailers follow suit. Any rewards card is soon linked to any credit/debit card and even online purchases are tracked and associated to you. However, paying cash at the local retailer has been the answer to staying as anonymous. Sadly, that may no longer be possible. We already have the technology to associate facial recognition patterns to each shopper and add that to the current tracking database. The only thing holding it back is privacy concerns.

Apache Protective Cases

Reader P.S. wrote in to inform SurvivalBlog readers of Harbor Freights new Apache Protective Cases. They are considerable less expensive than similar sized watertight cases and seem to perform as well. They do not come in the same variety of sizes and colors, but if you can use one of the few sizes available, it is much easier on your budget. There is also a video of their durability testing.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.” – John 1:47-49 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – November 25, 2017

November 25th is the birthday of economist and comedian Ben Stein. His unscripted monologue on economics from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of the most memorable scenes in American cinema. By the way, Stein spends part of each year at his second home in Sandpoint, Idaho, so he is an honorary Redoubter. I’ve heard that he plans to retire here.

o o o

We are coming down to the wire on round 73 of the SurvivalBlog Writing Contest. If you would like to submit your article for a chance at the fantastic prizes listed below, finish it up and get it submitted to us. We still have a few openings left this contest round.

o o o

As long as on-hand supplies last, Ready Made Resources is having a sale on autogated 3rd Generation high grade tube PVS-14 monocular/weapon sights from Night Vision Devices. They have a minimum of 64 line pair resolution! They are bargain priced at just $2,899 with free shipping, a full set of accessories (including head mount and case), and a generous return policy.

Continue reading“Preparedness Notes for Saturday – November 25, 2017”

Potatoes—A Staple for Food Storage With No Refrigeration, by Back Yard Gardner

17

Growing and storing potatoes in the Northwest through the winter months always brought unsatisfactory long-term storage results. It didn’t matter how I stored the potatoes after digging, whether in dry sawdust, under a layer of newspaper, on a dark cool dry shelf, all had similar results of shriveling and sprouting potatoes before the stored crop was used up.

An Experiment For Stored, “Fresh” Potatoes

I tried an experiment with the 2016 potato crop. Once I dug the Kennebec potatoes in April of 2017, the results of wonderful plump potatoes spurred me to store the 2017 potatoes crop the same way. No more shriveled up potatoes. I can dig the potatoes with my hands or a shovel when potatoes are needed in the kitchen. It’s just minutes from garden to kitchen, so that means fresh! Let me explain this new revelation that’s such a success…..

Continue reading“Potatoes—A Staple for Food Storage With No Refrigeration, by Back Yard Gardner”

The Editors’ Preps for the Week

13

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers,
We had a rainy week, here at the Rawles Ranch. So we concentrated on hunting and some indoor projects.  I tagged a nice fat young whitetail buck earlier this week.  That gave me a sense of relief. You see, it doesn’t feel like we are really ready for winter until the woodshed is full, the hay barn is full, and we have at least one deer hanging.

But I didn’t have any luck in filling my elk tag. Grumble, grumble... But I can only blame myself, because I didn’t take the time to get out in the woods very often, since Opening Day.

Continue reading“The Editors’ Preps for the Week”